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A review by simoneclark
Questions I Am Asked about the Holocaust by Hédi Fried
5.0
I received a complementary advance copy from Edelweiss+ in return for an honest review!
"One of the lessons from the Holocaust is this: never get used to injustice. An injustice is like a grain of sand in your hand; on its own, its weight may seem insignificant, but injustices have a tendency to multiply, they soon become so heavy that you can no longer bear them" (Hédi Fried)
As someone who was born and raised in Germany and 14 years of those early childhood years behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany, this book hit very close to home. In East Germany, we learned a lot about the Holocaust. There was no such thing as Holocaust denial. I have since encountered numerous members of the neo-Nazi movement and each time I got upset about their ignorance, hate, and denial. I have visited concentration camps such as Buchenwald and even though it has been decades since someone suffered there, I felt like their souls were still there. Hédi Fried's book is the type of book that we need more of! We need to keep hearing their stories, so that we will never forget. While I thought I knew a lot about the Holocaust already, this book helped me understand more about those Jews who did not originally come from Germany. It was very interesting to hear from a Hungarian Jew's perspective. I knew Jews from all kinds of countries suffered in the camps, but I had not idea how they ended up there and I had no clue about their perspective of the suffering and relationships they had in the camps. Hédi Fried tells the story in a language that is easy to understand for readers as young as highschool students. But I believe that it is equally interesting for older readers. This book was also made me reflect on my own religious beliefs. She states "I cannot demand tolerance of my faith if I do not tolerate yours." What a powerful and true statement! Great book and fast read that answers a lot of questions younger generations may have!
"One of the lessons from the Holocaust is this: never get used to injustice. An injustice is like a grain of sand in your hand; on its own, its weight may seem insignificant, but injustices have a tendency to multiply, they soon become so heavy that you can no longer bear them" (Hédi Fried)
As someone who was born and raised in Germany and 14 years of those early childhood years behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany, this book hit very close to home. In East Germany, we learned a lot about the Holocaust. There was no such thing as Holocaust denial. I have since encountered numerous members of the neo-Nazi movement and each time I got upset about their ignorance, hate, and denial. I have visited concentration camps such as Buchenwald and even though it has been decades since someone suffered there, I felt like their souls were still there. Hédi Fried's book is the type of book that we need more of! We need to keep hearing their stories, so that we will never forget. While I thought I knew a lot about the Holocaust already, this book helped me understand more about those Jews who did not originally come from Germany. It was very interesting to hear from a Hungarian Jew's perspective. I knew Jews from all kinds of countries suffered in the camps, but I had not idea how they ended up there and I had no clue about their perspective of the suffering and relationships they had in the camps. Hédi Fried tells the story in a language that is easy to understand for readers as young as highschool students. But I believe that it is equally interesting for older readers. This book was also made me reflect on my own religious beliefs. She states "I cannot demand tolerance of my faith if I do not tolerate yours." What a powerful and true statement! Great book and fast read that answers a lot of questions younger generations may have!